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United States Patent |
5,322,457
|
Tsuji
,   et al.
|
June 21, 1994
|
Connector with separate terminal retainer
Abstract
A connector including a separate terminal retainer for retaining terminals
in a connector housing where the retainer can be disengaged from the
connector housing without the use of external jigs. The connector includes
the connector housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating
chambers, and the terminal retainer adapted to be connected to a rear
portion of the connector housing in a two-step manner, i.e. a provisional
engagement condition and a complete engagement condition, and movable
relative to the connector housing. The terminal retainer has flexible
retaining pieces and flexible support pieces. In the complete engagement
condition, the flexible retaining pieces are engaged with respective metal
terminals by their own flexibility, and the flexible support pieces are
guided and elastically bent by the drive surfaces of the connector housing
to be engaged with respective metal terminals. When the terminal retainer
is moved backward from the complete engagement condition beyond the
provisional engagement condition, the flexible retaining pieces ride onto
projections of the connector housing to be displaced out of the locus of
movement of the metal terminals being removed. The metal terminal can be
easily removed from the connector housing without using any jigs.
Inventors:
|
Tsuji; Masanori (Shizuoka, JP);
Kashiyama; Motohisa (Shizuoka, JP);
Nishimura; Ayato (Shizuoka, JP)
|
Assignee:
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Yazaki Corporation (Tokyo, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
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009145 |
Filed:
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January 26, 1993 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S. Class: |
439/595; 439/752 |
Intern'l Class: |
H01R 013/436 |
Field of Search: |
439/595,597-599,752
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4660915 | Apr., 1987 | Mantlik | 439/595.
|
5037336 | Aug., 1991 | Betsui | 439/752.
|
5071373 | Dec., 1991 | Nagasaka et al. | 439/595.
|
5141452 | Aug., 1992 | Yoneda et al. | 439/752.
|
5145419 | Sep., 1992 | Yamanashi et al. | 439/752.
|
5183418 | Feb., 1993 | Yamanashi et al. | 439/595.
|
Primary Examiner: Bradley; P. Austin
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Sughrue, Mion, Zinn, Macpeak & Seas
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A connector, comprising:
a connector housing having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers;
and
a terminal retainer movable relative to said connector housing so as to be
connectable to a rear portion of said connector housing in a provisionally
engaged position and a completely engaged position, said terminal retainer
having flexible retaining pieces and flexible support pieces;
wherein said connector housing includes support piece deflecting means for
elastically deflecting each of said flexible support pieces as said
retainer is moved to said completely engaged position and retaining piece
deflecting means for deflecting said retaining pieces outwardly when said
retainer is moved rearwardly beyond said provisionally engaged position;
and
wherein in said completely engaged position, each of said flexible
retaining pieces is engaged with a corresponding metal terminal, and each
of said flexible support pieces is elastically deflected by said support
deflecting means of said connector housing so as to be engaged with said
corresponding metal terminal, and when said terminal retainer is moved
from said completely engaged position backward beyond said provisionally
engaged position, each of said flexible retaining pieces is deflected by
said retaining piece deflecting means as so to be displaced out of a locus
of movement of said metal terminal to allow removal thereof.
2. The connector of claim 1, wherein said support piece deflecting means
includes a drive surface provided on said connector housing.
3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein when said terminal retainer
is moved backwardly from said completely engaged position to said
provisionally engaged position, each of said flexible support pieces
becomes free from said drive surface so as to be elastically restored to
be displaced out of said locus.
4. The connector of claim 2, wherein said retaining piece deflecting means
includes a projection provided in said connector housing.
5. The connector according to claim 4, wherein each of said retaining
pieces includes means for forcibly displacing corresponding flexible
support pieces out of said locus when each of said flexible retaining
pieces rides onto said projection.
6. A connector, comprising:
a connector housing having at least one terminal accommodating chamber in
which a metal terminal is received;
a separate terminal retainer adapted to be coupled to said connector
housing, said terminal retainer having first and second retaining means
for retaining said metal terminal in said terminal accommodating chamber;
and
first positioning means for positioning said terminal retainer coupled to
said connector housing at a provisionally engaged position where said
first retaining means allows said metal terminal to be inserted into said
terminal accommodating chamber and prevents said metal terminal inserted
into said terminal accommodating chamber from being removed therefrom, and
said second retaining means is prevented from being engaged with said
metal terminal.
7. The connector according to claim 6, further comprising:
a second positioning means for positioning said terminal retainer coupled
to said connector housing at a completely engaged position where both said
first and second retaining means are engaged with said metal terminal.
8. The connector according to claim 6, further comprising:
a third positioning means for positioning said terminal retainer coupled to
said connector housing at a terminal removing position where both said
first and second retaining means are prevented from being engaged with
said metal terminal.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector with a separate terminal
retainer, which is used for connecting wire harnesses or the like.
2. Background
Referring to FIG. 11, a metal terminal c, to which an electric wire w is
connected, is inserted into a terminal accommodating chamber a.sub.1 of a
connector a and retained therein by a flexible retaining arm d. The
flexible retaining arm d has a step d.sub.1 at its distal end which is
engaged with a rear end of a female electric contact portion c.sub.1 of
the metal terminal c.
A terminal retainer b also shown in FIG. 11 is located at a provisional
retaining position where engagement ends e.sub.1 of a pair of flexible
retaining pieces are displaced from the female electric contact portion
c.sub.1. The terminal retainer b advances from the provisional retaining
position to a complete retaining position where the engagement ends
e.sub.1 of the flexible retaining pieces abut against the rear end of the
female electric contact portion c.sub.1 at both sides of the flexible
retaining arm d.
FIG. 13 shows a first terminal removing jig t.sub.1. The jig t.sub.1 has a
grip portion f and a two-pronged drive portion f.sub.1 on an end of the
grip portion f. FIG. 14 shows a second terminal removing jig t.sub.2
having a tapered drive portion g.sub.1 on an end of a grip portion g.
The operation for removing the metal terminal c from the connector a using
these first and second jigs t.sub.1 and t.sub.2 will be described
hereunder. The terminal retainer b is first moved backwardly from the
complete retaining position to the provisional retaining position as shown
in FIG. 11. Thereafter, the first terminal removing jig t.sub.1 is
inserted through an insertion portion h of the terminal retainer b into
the terminal accommodating chamber a.sub.1 so that the two-pronged drive
portion f.sub.1 is brought into contact with the engagement ends e.sub.1
of the pair of the flexible retaining pieces e while the wire w and the
metal terminal c is located in an interior f.sub.2 (i.e., between the two
prongs) of the two-pronged drive portion f.sub.1, as shown in an upper
half of FIG. 12. Thereafter, as shown in a lower half of FIG. 12, the grip
portion f is pivotably moved downwardly using the electric wire w as a
fulcrum so that the engagement ends e.sub.1 are moved upwardly by the
two-pronged drive portion f.sub.1. Thereafter, the second terminal
removing jig t.sub.2 is inserted from the front of the connector housing a
into the terminal accommodating chamber a.sub.1 so that the engagement
step d.sub.1 of the flexible retaining arm d is moved upwardly and
disengaged from the metal terminal c. In a state where the engagement step
d.sub.1 is maintained in the disengaged position, the metal terminal c is
removed from the connector a together with the first terminal removing jig
t.sub.1.
In the connector described above, the metal terminal c is double-retained
by the flexible retaining arm d of the connector housing a and the
flexible retaining piece e of the terminal retainer b to prevent backward
withdrawal thereof relative to the connector housing a. However, in order
to remove the metal terminal c from the connector housing a, two jigs must
be used to independently disengage the flexible retaining arm d and the
flexible retaining piece e from the metal terminal c, resulting in a
troublesome operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned difficulties.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to enable easy
removal of the metal terminal, which is subjected to double retainment in
a connector housing, without using any jigs.
In order to attain the above-noted and other objects, the present invention
provides a connector which includes a connector housing having a plurality
of terminal accommodating chambers and a terminal retainer adapted to be
connected to a rear portion of the connector housing in a two-step manner,
i.e. a provisional engagement condition and a complete engagement
condition, and movable relative to the connector housing, the terminal
retainer having flexible retaining pieces and flexible support pieces. In
the complete engagement condition of the connector, each of the flexible
retaining pieces is engaged with a corresponding metal terminal alone, and
each of the flexible support pieces is elastically bent by a drive surface
of the connector housing so as to be engaged with the corresponding metal
terminal. When the terminal retainer is moved from the complete engagement
condition backward beyond the provisional engagement condition, each of
the flexible retaining pieces rides onto a projection of the connector
housing to be displaced out of the locus of the metal terminal being
removed. If the terminal retainer is moved backward from the complete
engagement condition to the provisional engagement condition, each of the
flexible support pieces becomes free from the drive surface so as to be
elastically restored to be displaced out of the locus of movement of the
terminal.
The connector may further includes means, provided on each of the flexible
retaining pieces, for forcibly displacing corresponding flexible support
pieces out of the locus of movement when each of the flexible retaining
pieces rides onto the projection.
The present invention further provides a connector which includes a
connector housing having at least one terminal accommodating chamber in
which a metal terminal is received and a separate terminal retainer
adapted to be coupled to the connector housing, the terminal retainer
having first and second retaining means for retaining the metal terminal
in the terminal accommodating chamber.
Preferably, the connector further includes: a first positioning means for
positioning the terminal retainer coupled to the connector housing at a
complete engagement position where both the first and second retaining
means are engaged with the metal terminal; a second positioning means for
positioning the terminal retainer coupled to the connector housing at a
provisional engagement position where the first retaining means allows the
metal terminal to be inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber and
prevents the metal terminal inserted into the terminal accommodating
chamber from being removed therefrom, and the second retaining means is
prevented from being engaged with the metal terminal; and a third
positioning means for positioning the terminal retainer coupled to the
connector housing at a terminal removing position where both the first and
second retaining means are prevented from being engaged with the metal
terminal.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the accompanying drawings:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a connector housing and a
terminal retainer, as viewed from a rear thereof, according to an
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the connector housing and the terminal
retainer completely connected to each other;
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector housing and the
terminal retainer separated from each other;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector housing and the
terminal retainer provisionally connected to each other;
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector housing and the
terminal retainer, into which metal terminals are inserted;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the
connector housing and the terminal retainer completely connected to each
other;
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the connector housing and the
terminal retainer in the condition where the metal terminal is to be
removed therefrom;
FIG. 8 is a plane view showing a major part of the terminal retainer;
FIG. 9 is a front view showing the major part of the terminal retainer;
FIG. 10 is a side view showing the major part of the terminal retainer;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional connector with a
terminal retainer;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the conventional connector from
which metal terminals are to be removed;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a terminal removing jig; and
FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another terminal removing jig.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in
detail with reference to the drawing attached hereto.
In FIG. 1, reference numerals A and B respectively denote a female
connector housing and a terminal retainer, each of which is formed of
synthetic resin as an integral structure.
The female connector housing A includes a cover portion A.sub.1 at its
front half and a terminal accommodating chamber group portion A.sub.2 at
its rear half. In an upper half of the terminal accommodating chamber
group portion A.sub.2, two pairs of juxtaposed terminal accommodating
chambers 2 are provided in a parallel relation to each other with an
accommodating space 1 disposed therebetween. In a lower half thereof, six
terminal accommodating chambers 2 are juxtaposed in a continuous manner.
Each of the terminal accommodating chambers 2 in the upper and lower
halves of the portion A.sub.2 has an opening 2a directed upwardly or
downwardly.
A hood 3 is provided around an outer periphery of a rear portion of the
terminal accommodating chamber group portion A.sub.2 with an annular space
S therebetween. The hood 3 is formed at its upper and lower portions with
engagement portions 4 for facilitating complete engagement with the
terminal retainer B, as shown in FIG. 6. A withdrawal preventing
projection 5 for the terminal retainer B is formed on a side of each
partition wall 2b of the terminal accommodating chambers 2 facing the
accommodating space 1. A gap S' is also formed between the upper and lower
halves of the terminal accommodating chamber group portion A.sub.2.
As shown in FIG. 3, a stopper wall 6 for a metal terminal c is provided at
a front portion of each terminal accommodating chamber 2. An engagement
projection 7 for provisionally engaging the terminal retainer B is
provided on an end of each of partition walls 2b which define the terminal
accommodating chambers 2. The engagement projection 7 has an arcuate shape
and is located on the side adjacent the opening 2a. Sloped drive surfaces
9 are formed on an inner surface of a wall 8 confronting the partition
walls 2b across the annular space S.
Referring also to FIGS. 8-10, the terminal retainer B has a main frame
portion 10 formed by upper and lower plate portions 10a and 10b. Each of
the upper and lower plate portions 10a and 10b has flexible retaining
pieces 11 extending forwardly and corresponding to respective terminal
accommodating chambers 2. The flexible retaining pieces 11 are located at
a relatively inner portion of the upper and lower plate portions 10a and
10b in the thickness direction thereof. Provided on the outer portion of
the upper and lower plate portions 10a and 10b are flexible support pieces
12, one of which is disposed on each side of each flexible retaining piece
11.
Each flexible retaining piece 11 has a terminal retaining projection 11a at
its distal end portion, and a retaining tab 11b projecting transversely
(i.e. in right and left directions of FIG. 9). A pair of correction
projections 11c project transversely from opposite sides of each flexible
retaining piece 11 so as to be abutable against intermediate portions of
inner surfaces of respective flexible support pieces 12. The correction
projections 11c are located on each flexible retaining piece 11 at a
position that is to the rear of the retaining tab 11b.
An intermediate plate portion 10c is provided within the main frame portion
10 of the terminal retainer B. The terminal retainer B has a fitted
portion 13 provided between the upper plate portion 10a and the
intermediate plate portion 10c and adapted to be fitted into the
accommodation space 1 of the connector housing A. Engagement pieces 14 are
formed on both sides of the fitted portion 13 so as to be engagable with
the withdrawal prevention projections 5.
Projections 15 are provided on the outer surfaces of the upper and lower
plate portions 10a and 10b so as to be engagable with the engagement
portions 4 for the complete engagement between the connector housing A and
the terminal retainer B. Operation projections 16 are provided on side
plates 10d of the main frame portion 10 so as to correspond to notched
portions 17 provided in the rear portion of the connector housing A as
shown in FIG. 2.
As shown in FIG. 4, each metal terminal c has an intermediate retaining
portion 18 between an electric contact portion c.sub.1 in the form of male
tab and an electric connection portion c.sub.2. A pair of protruding
pieces 19 such as stabilizers are provided on both sides of the metal
terminal c between the electric connection portion c.sub.2 and the
intermediate retaining portion 18.
In the connector thus constructed, the terminal retainer B is provisionally
engaged with or connected to the connector housing A. For the provisional
engagement, the terminal retainer B is inserted into the connector housing
A such that flexible retaining pieces 11, the flexible support pieces 12,
and the upper and lower plate portions 10a and 10b are inserted into
corresponding upper and lower portions of the annular space S while the
intermediate plate portion 10c is inserted into the gap S'. During this
insertion, the engagement pieces 14 of the terminal retainer B is moved
beyond the withdrawal preventive projections 5 of the connector housing A.
When the retaining tabs 11b of the flexible retaining pieces 11 advance
beyond the provisional engagement projections 7 so as to be engaged
therewith, the terminal retainer B is placed into the provisional
engagement condition with the connector housing A (FIG. 4).
In the provisional engagement condition as shown in FIG. 4, the complete
engagement projections 15 are brought into abutment with the rear end of
the outer wall 8 of the connector housing A so as to prevent the terminal
retainer B from being unintentionally moved into the connector housing A
any further. In addition, the withdrawal prevention projections 5 in the
provisional engagement condition are deviated from the engagement pieces
14 so as not to be engaged therewith.
In the provisional engagement condition, a metal terminal c, to which an
electric wire w is connected, is inserted into each terminal accommodating
chamber 2. During this insertion, the intermediate retaining portion 18 of
the metal terminal is brought into contact with the terminal retaining
projection 11a so that the flexible retaining piece 11 is displaced
outwardly through the opening 2a, is moved beyond the terminal retaining
projection 11a, and is bought into abutment with the stopper wall 6,
resulting in the metal terminal c being primarily retained by the flexible
retaining piece 11 against the rearward withdrawal thereof (FIG. 5).
Thereafter, the terminal retainer B is further inserted into the connector
housing A causing the upper and lower plate portions 10a and 10b to be
elastically deformed inwardly until the complete engagement projections 15
become engaged with the engagement portions 4 (FIG. 6). In this complete
engagement condition as shown in FIG. 6, the flexible support pieces 12 of
the terminal retainer B are bent along the sloped drive surfaces 9 of the
wall 8 of the connector housing A so that the distal ends 12a of the
flexible support pieces 12 are engaged with the protruding pieces 19 of
the metal terminal c, resulting in secondary locking of the metal terminal
c by the flexible support pieces 12.
In a case where there are some incompletely inserted metal terminals c in
the provisional engagement condition, the intermediate retaining portion
18 of each incompletely inserted terminal c moves the flexible retaining
piece 11 upward, so that the distal end of the flexible retaining piece 11
is brought into abutment with a step 20 formed in the terminal
accommodating chamber 2 (FIG. 5). Therefore, the terminal retainer B
cannot be further inserted into the connector housing A and moved to the
complete engagement condition.
If a metal terminal c needs to be replaced with another terminal due to
damage or the like, the complete engagement projections 15 is disengaged
from the engagement portions 4. Thereafter, the terminal retainer B is
withdrawn from the connector housing A until the engagement pieces 14
engage the withdrawal prevention projections 5 whereupon the engagement
tab 11b of the flexible retaining piece 11 is moved onto the arcuate-like
provisional retaining projections 7 of the partition walls 2b. As a
result, the terminal retaining projection 11a is displaced outwardly while
the distal ends 12a of the flexible support pieces 12 are moved away from
the sloped drive surfaces 9 to restore the flexible support pieces 12 to
their straight configuration and to displace the flexible support pieces
12 out of the locus of movement of the metal terminal c being removed. In
this state, the metal terminal c can be simply removed from the connector
housing A without using any jigs (FIG. 7). During this motion, the
correction projections 11c forcibly move the flexible support pieces 12
out of the locus of the removed metal terminal c even if the flexible
support pieces 12 are insufficiently restored by their own flexibility.
A connector according to the present invention includes a connector housing
having a plurality of terminal accommodating chambers, and a terminal
retainer adapted to be connected to a rear portion of the connector
housing in a two-step manner, i.e. a provisional engagement condition and
a complete engagement condition, and movable relative to the connector
housing. The terminal retainer has flexible retaining pieces and flexible
support pieces. In the complete engagement condition, the flexible
retaining pieces are engaged with respective metal terminals by their own
flexibility, and the flexible support pieces are guided and elastically
bent by the drive surfaces of the connector housing to be engaged with
respective metal terminals. When the terminal retainer is moved from the
complete engagement condition backward beyond the provisional engagement
condition, the flexible retaining pieces ride onto projections of the
connector housing to be displaced out of the locus of movement of the
metal terminals. Accordingly, each metal terminal can be double-retained
by the flexible retaining piece and the flexible support pieces both
provided in the terminal retainer. Further, if the terminal retainer is
moved backward from the complete engagement condition to the provisional
engagement condition, the flexible support pieces become free from the
drive surfaces, so that the flexible support pieces are elastically
restored to be displaced out of the locus of movement of the metal
terminals. When the terminal retainer is further moved backward from the
provisional engagement condition, the flexible retaining pieces ride on
the projections so as to be displaced out of the locus of movement of the
metal terminals. Accordingly, the metal terminals can be easily removed
from the connector housing without using any jigs in a state where the
terminal retainer is released from the complete engagement condition and
displaced backward relative to the connector housing.
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